Send a Letter to your Legislator Today!
Your state legislators need to hear your concerns about growth in Chelmsford! See instructions below for sending an email with our sample letter.
Instructions:
- Copy the letter into your email
- To find your state legislator, click on the "Find my Legislator" link to get their office contact information
- Personalize the letter to explain your concerns
- Hit Send!
Sample Letter
Select the text of the letter from the area below, then copy and paste it into your email. Add personal touches by inserting your own sentences or statements after you've pasted it into your email!
BLANK
State House
Room #
Boston, Massachusetts
I am writing to urge you to support slow growth strategies for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. With limited open space, upward pressure on municipal and state services, burdens on our natural resources and a population density that rivals India, I want you to take action to stop unnecessary growth.
Research shows that residential development, especially the kind encourages by M.G.L. Chapter 40B, usually aggravates municipal budget problems. With current limitations on our ability to collect impact and linkage fees from the developer and the serious problem of taxes collected from new development not even coming close to offsetting the costs of the new services that these developments require, I urge you to take immediate action. An attempt to "build our way out" of our current budget woes will only exacerbate our problems. According to planning experts, new residential development costs between thirty to fifty percent more than it adds to a municipalities coffers in tax revenue. The American Farmland Trust (AFT) conducted surveys in 12 U.S. communities and found in each case that residential development constituted a net fiscal drain. AFT reports, "The results of this analysis show that over a wide range of densities the ongoing public costs of new residential development will exceed the revenues from such development." All credible academic studies indicate that increasing development leads to swelling populations that require increases in public services and infrastructure. These demands exceed tax revenue gains. The Commonwealth cannot afford to continue down this dangerous development path. In a 2002 report land-use expert, urban planner and author Dr. Eben Fodor, he concluded that the average new house typically costs taxpayers about $30,000 in infrastructure costs, which results in a net loss to taxpayers of about $25,000 per new house. After experiencing furious growth, Massachusetts is feeling these pressures. Since the Commonwealth has a steady, or even declining, population, a shift in focus from new development to redevelopment will benefit our state and provide a higher quality of life. These are the qualities that will attract and retain the workforce and college graduates that we need for a healthy economy. I do not want any more traffic congestion, over-crowding of schools, declining government service levels, crumbling roads and bridges, and higher taxes and I am requesting you to act on my behalf to ensure that policy changes are implemented to protect our shared interests. Please support slow growth strategies that, at the very least, make growth pay for growth. We can't afford to do business any other way.Thank you in advance for your time and full consideration of my requests.
Sincerely, - Type your name and address here -